


Sea Change

by WritingBarnes



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson Friendship, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Bucky Barnes Fluff, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Light Angst, Meet-Cute, Mythology - Freeform, Roommates, donut the cat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 03:03:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13226772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingBarnes/pseuds/WritingBarnes
Summary: There were things she expected to happen in her life. Getting fired from her job after punching a perverted colleague in the neck was one of them. But getting kicked out of her apartment because she couldn’t pay her share of the rent for the month (and because her roommate’s boyfriend was moving in) apparently was not something she thought she would experience. Good thing Clint Barton knew someone who was looking for a roommate.





	1. 001

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! i am here with another fluff/crack AU Fic of bucky & Reader!
> 
> let me know what you think!
> 
> Comments/subscription/kudos/etc are greatly appreciated <3

Clint Barton was one of the friendliest beings Bucky has ever seen in his life, which was expected of someone with Artemis’ blood running through his veins. It was how he managed to have a permanent place in a diverse group of people who unironically called themselves the Avengers. Apparently a few years before he moved into the apartment, they somehow saved the apartment building from a fire after Loki played around with his potion and accidentally burned a very expensive and flammable rug. The landlord, Nick Fury, a dark man with a missing eye, made it a point for him not to experiment with ‘stupid-motherfucking-potions’ when Bucky signed his lease contract. And he wasn’t James Buchanan Barnes if he didn’t roll his eyes and mutter something sarcastic along the line how mermaids _love_ fire. That earned him a deathly glare and Bucky wondered if Fury would set him on fire if it weren’t for Clint Barton walking in with three cups of black coffee, two of which he drank himself in a matter of minutes.

 

_“Oh hey. Want some coffee?” He offered the last cup of coffee after dumping the empty cups in a trashcan near the stairs. “Hey, boss. Didn’t see you there with your murderous eye.”_

_“No, thank you. You look like you need it.” Clint Barton only shrugged and gulped down the coffee, unbothered by the scalding hot liquid._

_“This is Clint Barton from 405. He lives with his girlfriend/wife, god knows what their relationship is.” Nick Fury grumbled. “Barton, this is James Barnes. He’s going to stay in lot 709. Try to get along.”_

_“She’s my person. A spider-person, but my person nevertheless.” Clint Barton corrected with a grin as they watched Nick Fury slammed the door of his place. “Come along, Barnes. I’ll introduce you to The Avengers.”_

_“The what?”  Bucky didn’t even bother to ask Clint why and trailed behind the blond-haired man while he explained about every tenant he was friends with._

_“The Avengers? You’ve never heard of us? Not even from Steve and Sam? We saved this building from a fire two years ago. It was awesome, man. Loki, the little shit that lives on the seventh floor, accidentally set his apartment on fire. Tony Stark-that’s the filthy rich guy who lives in the penthouse-decided that we should help and gave us the name. I personally love it, but Nat thinks it’s stupid,” Clint paused to take a breath and unlocked the door to his place, “I think she secretly loves it.”_

_Bucky stopped in his tracks when something-someone tugged on his pants. A little boy, probably around three of four, with twinkling eyes and gummy smile, looked up at him in amazement._

_“That’s our kid. Found him in a dumpster.” Bucky’s heart dropped at the sudden revelation before he saw Clint’s mischievous grin. “Nah, his aunt died and we adopted him. Peter, say hi to Barnes.” The little boy let out some nonsensical words, hands making a grabbing motion at him with a wide smile._

_“Hey.” Bucky nodded awkwardly as he slowly picked up the kid. “Nice to meet you.”_

_“Sometimes his extra arms appear when he’s a little excited, just a little warning.” Clint grinned. “You know, little spiderling and all. Want some coffee?” Bucky furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Clint who was already running on three cups of black coffee, was too busy brewing a fresh cup to notice the weird look._

_“… No, thank you.”_

That was two years ago and Bucky now knows that Clint drank an inhuman amount of caffeine every day, talked too much, befriended everyone, including the stray dogs across the street, and he was disgustingly in love with Natasha and a fool for Peter.

 

“You’re drooling.” Bucky commented off-handedly as he settled himself next to Clint and grabbed the TV Remote from the table.

 

Clint shamelessly grinned at him. He never missed his aim and might be the best when it comes to archery but he was helpless when it comes to Natasha. Bucky was about to play the movie when Natasha called out his name from the kitchen.

 

“You’re looking for a roommate?” She asked him once she reemerged from the kitchen with Steve and Peter trailing behind her. Peter, who was now five and found his calling in imitating every single person, quickly mimicked Natasha’s stance and said the same sentence.

 

“Yeah. Why?”

 

 “I thought you mermaids love to brood alone in your place.”

 

“Excuse me, I like being with other people.” Bucky defensively retorted.

 

Clint and Steve snorted. “Nick Fury went out of his place more than you do, Barnes.”

 

“Fuck you, Barton.”

 

“Fuck you, Barton! Fuck you, Barton!” Peter made an excited squeal as he repeated the words over and over again and ran back to the kitchen to find Sam.

 

“Language!”

 

.

 

Steve Rogers let out a loud sigh as he leaned back on the couch, eyes glaring at Bucky who just closed the door on the eigth rejected roommate.

 

“What the fuck are you looking for in a roommate anyway? Flounder the fish? Sebastian the crab?” Steve grumbled, crossing another name on the list of potential roommate. He didn’t cancel his date with girlfriend Peggy to do this (Bucky might or might have not bribed him with pizzas). Bless Peggy for telling him to help Bucky with sorting out a new roommate, instead of going to the nice newly opened restaurant at the other end of the city.

 

That was seven hours ago and they were still struggling with finding the perfect roommate for his fussy friend. The pizzas were long gone, leaving them with empty grease-stained boxes next to the coffee table. They had interviewed at least eight applicants, with one getting kicked out the moment they appeared when they said something racist.

 

“Ha-ha. Very funny, Steve.” Bucky rolled his eyes. He was about to plop down on the couch when he heard the doorbell ring. “The next applicant won’t be here until later.” Bucky frowned.

 

“Maybe Peggy is here to pick me up from this hellhole.” Steve replied as he got up from the couch and made his way to the front door, ignoring Bucky’s incoherent profanities.

 

.

 

There were things [Y/N] expected to happen in her life. Getting fired from her job after punching a perverted colleague in the neck was one of them. But getting kicked out of her apartment because she couldn’t pay her share of the rent for the month (and because her roommate’s boyfriend was moving in) apparently was not something she thought she would experience.

 

“We were friends, Clint!” She cried into the phone, shoving her clothes into the gigantic suitcase. “I can’t believe her. She didn’t pay rent for a month too last year and I let her off!”

 

“Well, she’s a human. What do you expect, [Y/N]?” Clint told her.

 

“Well, my mom is a human but she’s not like this.” She angrily wiped the tears off her face and sat on the bed. “I can’t believe I’m unemployed and homeless. Clint, I don’t think I can survive a day outside. I have a child to feed.”

 

Clint snorted. “You have a fat cat that eats too much.” There was a pause before she heard him speak to the phone, “You can move to our building! My friend, Bucky, is looking for a roommate and I think you’d be the perfect roommate for him. He’s a nice guy and doesn’t talk much. You’ll love him and I bet he’ll be thrilled to have you as his roommate. Why don’t you bring your stuff over here and we’ll visit him together?”

 

“Are you sure? What if he says no, Clint?”

 

“He won’t. Do you want me and Nat to pick you up? We can even scare your ex-friend and her boyfriend for you.”

 

“Yes, please.” [Y/N] mumbled into the phone, hand reaching out to softly pet her cat.

 

.

 

It took her an hour to finish packing the rest of her clothes and stuff, another to put it inside Nat’s car, and a good thirty minutes to watch Natasha intimidate her ex-friend with her red eyes and extra limbs. The shrieking and crying that ensued afterwards was quite worth it. She was even smiling as she hauled her cat’s bag into the car. She would have to come back to get the rest of her stuff but after Natasha’s soft threats, she wouldn’t worry about her former roommate throwing away her belongings.

 

“We’ll bring this to our place. You should go to Bucky’s place and say hi.” Clint grinned. He patted the two large suitcases when the elevator door opened on seventh floor. He gave her a gentle push before she could say anything. Natasha was already gone to find an empty parking space and couldn’t stop Clint from doing whatever he wanted.

 

“I don’t know his room.”

 

“709. He’s pretty tall, pretty good looking.” [Y/N] sighed as she watched the elevator door closed on her.

 

.

 

Door 709 was located at the end of the hall to her left. She jumped a little when the door abruptly opened and someone walked out of the place with scowl on their face, ignoring her when they went past her. She took another deep breath and made her way closer to the door, nerves pricking at her skin when she heard faint arguing noises coming from inside the apartment. Maybe this was a bad idea, she thought as she raised her hand and pressed the doorbell. The bell made a weird buzzing sound, followed by what sounded like a string of profanities from someone before it opened, revealing a tall, blonde haired man, with face that made her want to cry. _Pretty good looking, my ass,_ she thought as her eyes wandered to the man’s face. _He looked like he was sculpted by the gods._

 

“Bucky?” [Y/N] hesitantly asked. She could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage when the man didn’t say anything. “Uhm, Clint said you’re looking for a roommate and he had texted you I’ll be coming over?”

 

At the mention of roommate, his eyes brightened up and a beautiful smile slowly appeared on his face. He opened the door wider, giving her a view of the cool-colored interiors. “Bucky is inside! Come in! What’s your name?”

 

“[Y/N]. My name is [Y/N].” She answered as she stepped inside the apartment. There was a turquoise colored entryway table on her right and a small whiteboard hanging on the off-white wall on her left. The apartment itself was nice and clean, with a similar floor plan as Natasha’s and Clint’s place. It was a little brighter than her friends’ home, with its blue interiors to accentuate the white walls and sand-colored carpet in the living room.

 

“Bucky is inside. He’ll be happy to know you’re here. No wonder he says no to all the other applicants.” Steve’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She dumbly nodded as she trailed behind him, eyes widely looking around the impressively decorated apartment. It took her a moment to process Steve’s words and she quickly stopped on her track, hands reaching out to grab Steve’s arm.

 

“Wait, you’re not Bucky?”

 

“No, I’m his best friend, Steve Rogers. This is Bucky.” Steve beamed, gesturing to a brooding guy on the couch. Bucky, as it turned out, was not as she expected to be. He looked the exact opposite of Steve, with dark, shoulder-length hair, stubbles, and frown that made him look a lot more intimidating. His gaze slowly made its way towards her, lips pressed into a thin line as he stared at her questioningly.

 

“Who is this?”

 

“This is [Y/N], your new roommate!” Steve grinned, patting [Y/N]’s back with a little force, causing her to stumble a little. She thought she saw Bucky’s lips tilted into a smile. “She said Clint texted you about her arrival.”

 

“No, he didn’t.” Bucky shook his head, taking his phone out of his pocket to check for new messages.

 

“But he said you’re on board with me being your roommate.” [Y/N] added, eyes darting between Steve and Bucky in panic.

 

“Uh… no?”

 

“Pardon my language, but _what the fuck_ do you mean by ‘no’?” [Y/N] blurted out before she could stop herself.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky didn’t mean to pry. He wasn’t that nosy of a person, but the red notebook was just lying there on the couch. It was practically begging to be read. He probably would blame it on the chilly weather and the abundance of free time he had gotten after finishing another project as well. And it was definitely not a payback after that particular incident just shy two months ago.

Sometimes [Y/N] wondered how much more the world could fuck her up. Like, when she was just eight years old and was a little too excited for her own good to climb a tree, only to end up with a broken arm. Or that time she had to submit a very important essay for her finals, only to spill coffee all over it. Or when she was celebrating her 21st birthday and ended up getting mugged the moment she stepped out of a club. Her life might be filled with misfortunes but this? This took the whole cake.

 

[Y/N] sat on the blue couch in Bucky’s apartment with a cup of tea while she watched Clint explain his _brilliant_ idea to Bucky. Steve was kind enough to steer her to the kitchen once Bucky’s face contorted into pure frustration. He sat her down on one of the kitchen stool and took out a plate of chocolate cake from the fridge.

 

“Chocolate always make you feel better.” He offered, grabbing two spoons from one of the drawers. She didn’t know what she would do if Steve wasn’t here to mediate the whole argument (there was a 98% chance she would start crying in front of everyone, but no one needed to know that).

 

“Sorry for this.” Steve smiled.

 

She scooped a spoonful of the cake and slowly brought it to her mouth, eyes automatically closing in delight. “This is so good.” She moaned, grabbing another spoonful. “I might even forgive my old roommate for kicking me out of our apartment if you keep giving me chocolate cake.”

 

“You don’t have a place to live?” Steve frowned, his spoon stopped mid-air. [Y/N] looked up from the cake, eyes filled with confusion.

 

“Yeah, I thought you knew? That’s why Clint told me to come here. I didn’t have a place to go. I’d stay with Nat and Clint but they have Peter.” Her answer seemed to startled Steve for a moment before the blond guy got up from his seat and stormed out of the kitchen. She wondered if she had offended him in any way, but her worry soon disappeared when she heard Steve’s panicked voice.

 

“You need to let her stay here, Bucky!”

 

“What-No, I don’t?” came Bucky’s reply.

 

“Yes! She doesn’t have anywhere to go. She needs a place to stay and you need a roommate. She seems nice, Buck. Definitely better than the other applicants.”

 

“She loves cleaning too! Just like you!” Clint added excitedly, earning a glare from Bucky.

 

There was a long silence in the living room and [Y/N] opted to shove another spoonful of cake to ease her nerves. It took her five more spoonfuls of cake before Bucky finally let out a sigh and a mumbled, “Fine.”

 

Huh, maybe this wasn’t as bad as she initially thought.

 

The three men walked into the kitchen a moment later. Steve had the happiest expression on his face and Clint couldn’t stop fidgeting in excitement as they relayed the news. Bucky, on the other hand, only stood by the table with his arms crossed, eyes fixed on her.

 

“I like my place clean. I don’t like loud noises. Do not take my cake and sweets. Clint said you were in a rough spot, so I’ll let you off for this month’s rent. In return, you will clean the apartment and do some chores for me. Is that okay with you?”

 

[Y/N] nodded quickly. “I’ll even bake you cookies and cakes if you want.” That seemed to brighten him up a little. Bucky gave her a little nod and shook her hand.

 

“Welcome, roommate.”

 

“Yes! Why don’t you show her around while I go get Donut?”

 

.

 

“Uhh–“ [Y/N] stared at the huge bathtub installed in the bathroom. This bathroom was probably bigger than her new bedroom, with the gigantic bathtub taking almost half of the room. She looked up at Bucky, who stared at her, as if daring her to say any stupid comments. She gulped down her curiosity and nerves and flashed him a nervous smile. “So you like bath time a lot, huh?”

 

She could hear Steve’s snort from behind her.

 

“Your room is across the hall.” Bucky changed the topic, dragging Steve out of the bathroom while [Y/N] trailed behind him. “You’ll have to buy some bedsheets and covers later, but I can lend it to you for now.” He said as he pushed open the door.

 

The room was decorated with minimalistic interiors. The blue color of the desk, wardrobe, and window frame provided a nice contrast to the pale colored wall and wood flooring. There was a huge window on one side of the room, with generous sunlight pouring in and [Y/N] fought the urge to smile at the prospect of basking in its warmth.

 

“It’s not much.” Bucky quietly said, still staring at her, gauging her reaction.

 

“It’s beautiful. I love it so much. This is definitely better than my last apartment.” She gushed. “Thank you so much for letting me stay here.”

 

He flushed a little, quickly dismissing her gratitude with a wave of his hand. “It’s nothing.” He mumbled before leaving her room.

 

“He’s not very good at making new friends,” Steve whispered with a grin. “He’ll warm up to you soon. Don’t worry.”

 

[Y/N] opened her mouth to reply when she heard loud profanities coming from the living room. She and Steve quickly made their way out of the bedroom and into the living room, where Clint was standing with a huge white cat who kept hissing at Bucky.

 

“What the fuck is this?!” Bucky glared at the cat.

 

“This is Donut. I told you I’ll be bringing her over, Buck.”

 

“I thought you meant the food.”

 

“Donut is her cat.” Clint pointed at [Y/N] who shuffled awkwardly under everyone’s stares.

 

“She’s really nice, I promise.” She mumbled quietly, not daring to meet Bucky’s eyes.

 

“You will be in charge of throwing out the trash for two months.” Bucky grumbled in response.

 

 

.

 

 

Bucky didn’t mean to pry. He wasn’t that nosy of a person, but the red notebook was just lying there on the couch. It was practically begging to be read. He probably would blame it on the chilly weather and the abundance of free time he had gotten after finishing another project as well. And it was definitely not a payback after that particular incident just shy two months ago.

 

He was practically immune to cold, which was great, because he got to save a couple hundred bucks every winter, much to Steve’s and Sam’s dismay. He had been saving money for years, opting to splurge on other essentials Steve dubbed as ‘useless-fish-necessities’. And he would have been showing off his pride and joy to his best friends and bragged about his money just like he did the past years if it wasn’t for his new roommate.

 

_It was a quite a chilly evening in late October and Bucky was quite excited to go home after a long meeting with a client. He had been planning on enjoying the cold evening with a box of pizza and a nice beer, alone in his living room. [Y/N] said she would be home late, which gave him more than enough time to relax. Maybe he could even use the bath bombs Natasha gave her few weeks ago. Bucky’s smile grew as he approached his apartment door, keys in his hand. Today had been a good day._

_A click and a turn of the knob later, he pushed open the door, smile quickly slipping off his face at the state of his apartment. Nothing was amiss. In fact, it was too clean and he would’ve been impressed by his roommate’s cleaning skills if it weren’t for the irritating warmth of his apartment. His eyes landed on the huge glass window near a single couch and an electric heater. [Y/N] was currently curled on top of a fluffy carpet in front of said couch, face filled with pure bliss as the heater warmed her body and lulled her to sleep. It was almost adorable._

_But Bucky was too annoyed with how warm his apartment was and how he could feel sweat starting to form on his forehead to admit it. He glared at Donut, who hissed quietly at him from the couch, as if daring him to wake up her beloved owner. And Bucky Barnes was not going to be a petty person, especially to a cat. He raised his eyebrows at the cat in a mock challenge and took a few steps closer, setting his belongings on the table before he closed the distance between [Y/N] and him. Donut, in all her white fluffy glory, let out another hiss, and wiggled her butt in a stalking manner, ready to pounce him._

Screw being the bigger person _, Bucky huffed, poking her gently with his foot, eyes never leaving the cat._

_“[Y/N]. Wake up.” He called her name, giving her another gentle poke._

_She scrunched her face, curling her body tighter to itself before letting out a little happy sigh._

_“What the fuck did you do to this apartment?” Bucky continued poking her, earning another hiss and a growl from the cat. “You, shut up. Let the adults talk.” He pointed his finger at the cat._

_“It was too cold.” [Y/N] mumbled, voice groggy with sleep._

_“It’s not even snowing. You’re not supposed to turn on the heater! Do you know how expensive this shit can be?”_

_“Nice to know you care more about your money than my life.” She replied and opened one eye. She pulled the thick blanket up to her chin as she looked up at him and the sight of her_ definitely _didn’t make his heart skip a beat._

_“Are you sick?” Bucky frowned. He might be immune to cold but he knew today’s weather was not even that cold. Sam and Clint were doing just fine with their sweaters, and Steve was even sporting a simple t-shirt when he met them for lunch earlier that day._

_“No. I just hate the cold.”_

_“It’s not even that cold, [Y/N].” Bucky crouched down in front of her, hand automatically touching her forehead. “You don’t have a fever though…”_

_“Our kind likes warmth.”_

_“Your kind?” Bucky frowned. She was already drifting back to sleep, her speech slurring as she spoke._

_“Yeah, werecat…”_

_It was how he finally discovered his roommate was a werecat and he didn’t know if he should kill Clint for not telling her, or laugh at the absurdity of the situation._

_He thought the first option was better when he received the monthly electric bills._

 

.

 

 He took few careful steps closer to the couch, as if afraid [Y/N] would sense him and call him from her new workplace, a quaint bookstore owned by the descendant of Bastet named T’challa. He was the most charismatic and terrifying and beautiful man Bucky has ever seen in his life, and he had been friends with _the_ Steve Rogers since he was 5.

 

He shook his head a little, turning his attention back to the red book sitting on the couch. His hand slowly reached out to grab it, flipping it open to a random page.

 

“I shouldn’t be reading this.” He paused, gaze still fixed on the date at the top of the page. He was about to close the book and set it back on the couch when a little voice in him reminded him of last night’s fiasco.

 

_“So…” [Y/N] awkwardly started out. They were enjoying take-outs during their off-day. A random animated movie was playing on the TV, one Bucky didn’t bother to know its title. He picked up the last piece of dumpling and turned to her, waiting for her to speak out._

_“I was talking to Clint earlier…” oh this can’t be good. “I was asking him how to be your friend and he told me to ask you about Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid?”_

_Bucky choked on the dumpling, the food spluttering all over the floor. He kept coughing loudly before [Y/N] quickly offered him a glass of water. It took him a few moments to finally calm down and he wiped his mouth, grabbing the extra napkins to clean up the mess._

_“Do you like the movies?” [Y/N] asked after a long beat of silence. “I mean, I guess you do, judging by how you decorate your apartment.”_

_“I- I–“ Bucky took a deep breath to calm his frustration. “The movies are fine. Clint is just being an asshole.”_

_[Y/N] nodded quietly, slurping some noodles before she turned to him again._

_“Can we watch The Little Mermaid, then?”_

 

“Maybe I should.” Bucky said to himself. “Just a little peek.” He convinced himself as he reopened the book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think of the story so far! :) and thank you for reading!
> 
> Happy new year 2018! <3


End file.
